EU Presidency Statement - International Criminal Court

Mr. President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the associated countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area, Iceland and Liechtenstein, declare that they align themselves with this statement.

Mr. President,

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, through its work, has made and continues to make a substantial contribution to the replacement of a culture of impunity by a culture of accountability thus playing an important role in the process of national reconciliation in Rwanda and in the maintenance of peace and security in the region. Together with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Rwanda Tribunal has been contributing to the development of international criminal law. The two ad hoc Tribunals represent a cornerstone in the universal affirmation of the principle that, in the words of the Secretary-General, "there can be no healing without peace; there can be no peace without justice; and there can be no justice without respect for human rights and rule of law".

With great satisfaction, the EU takes note of the recent efforts of the Tribunal: in the last year nine trials, involving 23 accused, have been conducted; judgments have been delivered in 3 cases, involving 4 accused.

The EU therefore would like strongly to reaffirm its full support for the ICTR, its work and its mandate as one of the main tools of our collective determination to bring peace in societies disrupted by atrocious conflicts.

Mr. President,

We are all of course aware that, since its inception, the ICTR has faced a number of practical difficulties which have rendered the performance of its tasks at times not easy and burdensome. In addition, the complexity of the cases, the need for voluminous disclosure and translation of documents, the transport of witnesses from all parts of the world and the availability of witnesses, all these facts contribute to disappointingly slow pace of trials at the ICTR to date. However, the Tribunal has put considerable effort into overcoming the many obstacles that it has encountered so far and has adopted a number of measures aimed at expediting pre-trial and trial proceedings. In particular, the progress and advancements achieved in the Tribunal's work during last year are described in the new annual report submitted by its President, whom the EU would like warmly to thank for his work. The EU takes this opportunity to welcome the new President of the ICTR, Judge Erik Møse, and to thank the former President, Judge Navanethem Pillay - now Judge of the International Criminal Court - for the accomplishment of her duties, and wishes to both of them all the success in their new endeavours.

The EU further welcomes the election, on 25 June 2003, pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1431 (2002), of a pool of 18 ad litem judges and the fact that a number of them have already been called to work on some of the Tribunal's cases. At the same time the EU recommends increasing - as underlined in the report of the President of the Court - the number of ad litem judges as soon as possible, in order to ensure a timely completion of the ICTR's mandate. Furthermore, the amendment of the Statute must lead to an increase of judicial output and contribute to the overall Completion Strategy. The EU reiterates the importance of ICTR making every effort to respect the deadlines of the Completion Strategy, namely, 2004 for the completion of investigations, 2008 for the completion of trials and 2010 for the completion of appeals.

All the branches of the Tribunal have demonstrated continued dedication in their work, in particular the Prosecutor. During the period under review the Prosecutor has continued to implement its strategy in investigating new cases and preparing some of the most complex cases for trial, in view of the timely completion of the assigned task.

By its Resolution 1503 (2003) the Security Council further decided to amend the Statute of the Tribunal in order to split the positions of Prosecutor of the ICTY and the Prosecutor of the ICTR with a view to easing the prosecutorial workload in the implementation of these Tribunals' respective completion strategies. The EU would like to express its highest appreciation for the efficient and knowledgeable work done by Mrs. Carla Del Ponte as former Chief Prosecutor of both Tribunals and to express its strong support for her future commitment as Prosecutor of the ICTY. The EU also welcomes the prompt appointment of Mr. Hassan Bubacar Jallow as Prosecutor of the Rwanda Tribunal and wishes him well in his new position. The EU calls on the Presidents and Prosecutors of the ICTY and ICTR to continue their co-operation in order to maximize the efficient use of the intellectual and financial resources of the two tribunals.

Mr. President,

Any efforts aimed at improving the Tribunal's work and completion of its mandate within the established timeframe are bound to bring no results if cooperation from the States concerned is not guaranteed. For this purpose it remains crucial for the ICTR to obtain adequate facilities and full cooperation from these States, whenever required, with particular attention to the access to military information and to the collaboration in securing the appearance in Court of prosecution witnesses.

The EU in particular calls on the Rwandan authorities to ensure that they facilitate, to the fullest extent possible, the performance of the Tribunal's mandate and the determination of responsibilities for crimes committed in Rwanda during 1994 for which the Tribunal is competent.

Mr. President,

While recognizing that room for improvement still exist and further measures can be taken either to remedy perceived problems or increase further the efficiency of the Tribunal, the EU trusts that, due to recent innovations in its structure and working methods, as well as to the hard work of all its staff, the Tribunal will be able to continue to make steady and successful progress towards the timely fulfillment of its mandate.

Thank you Mr. President.

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• EU Presidency Statement - International Criminal Court  (20/10/2003)
• EU Presidency Statement - The International Criminal Court (1/7/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court (11/4/2002)